I know it’s cliche, but anytime you’re on a list with just Michael Jordan, you had a good night. (How did Allen Iverson never do this?) No one will ever confuse Harden for Andre Iguodala, but his early-season lapses seem to be a thing of the past. He still isn’t fighting over every pick-and-roll and he ball-watches some, but he’s at least playing hard on both ends of the court. Maybe Harden overestimated what it was like to have Dwight Howard cleaning up the rim early on; but whatever it was, he has been much more locked-in on defense lately and has always been a threat to pick off a few passes.

POR’s Matthews:”We’re pissed off. This is the second time in a row when the game was on the line and the whistles changed on us.” #PORvsHOU

You never want to see the refs influence a game the way they did last night, but after the raw deal Houston was getting in the first half, it’s very difficult to feel sorry for Portland’s late-game plight. Not to mention, the no-call in the backcourt right before Patrick Beverley’s desperation heave at the end of regulation should have given the Rockets two free throws to win it.

And that was largely against excellent defenders in Dwyane Wade, Arron Afflalo, Paul George and Wes Matthews. Is James Harden the best non-LeBron/Durant offensive player in the league? Steph Curry and Melo might have something to say about that, but Harden was incredible last week.

After this killer road trip, Rockets will have just 5 of final 16 games against teams with records better than .500; LAC, OKC, BKN, TO, SA.

Things won’t feel as good this time next week if the Rockets don’t come out of this week with at least two wins, but the rest of the schedule is set up perfectly for Houston heading into the playoffs.

And finally, don’t you reckon this is exactly what Dwight was looking for when he decided to leave Kobe’s Lakers? Terrence Jones looks a little uncomfortable with everything going on there, but the rest of those guys are feeling the love. (Just look at Pat Beverley nestled into Jeremy Lin’s neck. I want that kind of warm embrace.)

After all the hell Jerry Jones has put me through the last 20 years (yea, I’m one of those), it has been an ab-sol-ute pleasure watching the Rockets these past few weeks. Even I didn’t think the Rockets had this kind of stretch in them this early in their development. And with Miami, Indiana and OKC all stumbling as of late, and the Spurs surely to rest their big-guns at least a few games down the stretch, the window is there to capture home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Bring on hell-week.